He is not a musician, but Arrowtown sculptor Ed Cruikshank is playing a part all the same in the upcoming At the World’s Edge Festival (AWE) in Queenstown, Wānaka, Cromwell and Bannockburn.

In a first for the chamber music festival, he is creating a burnished brass sculpture, pierced with Braille holes and lit from within, to match composer-in-residence Michael Norris’ work called Orbital.

The work is also a response to AWE’s theme, “lines as boundaries and bridges”.

“The words of my piece relate to some of the thinking behind his composition,” says Cruikshank, who discovered “uncanny similarities” in the ideas they’d been independently exploring.

While Norris plays his piece at Wānaka’s Rippon Hall next Sunday, October 4, a large version of Cruikshank’s work will be light-projected over the audience.

The pair will also chat about their collaboration from 3.45pm.

Then, on October 9, at Queenstown’s Te Atamira, Cruikshank and AWE co-director, violinist Benjamin Baker, will give an artist talk from 6.30pm while his sculpture will be on display.

People will be able to bid on the piece during AWE and at subsequent AWE Chicago and London festivals, early next year.

Cruikshank will donate all proceeds to AWE — it’s thought the sculpture will fetch about $30,000.

scoop@scene.co.nz